“What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded once we were out of earshot.
“You know exactly what I’m doing here,” she responded, not bothering to keep her voice down as she stared up at me. “I’m here to help.”
If it had been any other woman, I would have found it admirable. I probably would have praised her strength and determination. But this wasn’t just any woman. This was Rachel. This was my mate. I didn’t care how strong she was. I cared about knowing she was safe.
“How did you get out?” I asked.
“I broke the door with a lamp,” she said straightforwardly.
I would have laughed if I weren’t so frustrated. I had to appreciate the determination despite the anxiety racing through me.
“You can’t be here,” I said.
“That’s my decision, Sam,” she said, her voice surprisingly gentle. “I appreciate that you care about me. Really, I do. But you can’t lock me up every time something bad happens.”
I growled in frustration, holding onto her as my wolf panicked inside. All I wanted was for her to be safe. Why the hell couldn’t she see that?
“I’m trying to protect you,” I said.
“I know,” she said. “Which is the only reason I’m not as furious with you as I should be. But I’m also not going to let you go on what’s effectively a suicide mission without someone who can do magic. I’m not going to stand by at home waiting to hear if you died or not when there’s a chance I can make a difference.”
That damned stubbornness again. If it were anyone else, I would have found it admirable. I still found it admirable, butthat was overshadowed by the concern and worry permeating every inch of my body at her insistence on being here.
Before I could argue further with her, Elias appeared at our side, frowning as he took in the scene.
“What the hell is going on?” Elias asked, searching between the two of us, his eyes narrowed.
“Nothing,” I said.
“I’m here to help,” Rachel said, stepping in front of me.
Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn’t been this. Elias tilted his head, confusion and bewilderment momentarily blocking out his panic over Emma. “Don’t take this the wrong way, sis, but you can’t shift. I appreciate you wanting to help, but I don’t see what you can do here.”
“Exactly,” I said, reaching out to take her by the elbow. “So why don’t you—”
More gently than I would have expected, she worked her elbow from out of my grasp, keeping her eyes locked on her brother. She took a deep breath, her hands trembling ever so slightly. Then, steeling herself, she held out her hand palm up.
Fire erupted from her palm, bright and hot, twisting into an orb of flame with orange and red and white swirling around. Elias stared, mouth slightly open, as the flames flickered and cast his face in orange-yellow light.
While he watched, she flexed her palm. The fire stretched, lengthening into strands of rope as it grew hotter. It twisted and coiled into a mini-vortex in her hand. Heat radiated off it, so hot that I could feel my own forehead prickling and perspiring, but there wasn’t so much as a drop of sweat on Rachel.
The vortex shot out of her hand, swirling first around Elias, then around me. It twisted, its shape altering and turningback into tendrils, so it looked almost spider-like as it grew and swelled.
I kept my face neutral even as I gaped inwardly. The last time I had seen it, that massive wall that saved me from the wraith, it had seemed wild, almost out of control, as if she barely knew how to wield it. She had practiced since then. A lot. More importantly, she was good.
The flame vanished, leaving only faint whispers of smoke and heat behind as she lowered her hand. She stared at her brother, her jaw jutted out in defiance, though I could sense the anxiety rippling off her, that desperation for her brother to accept her regardless.
Elias didn’t say anything as he stared at his sister as if seeing her for the first time.
“Someone in our family was a witch,” she said when he didn’t make a sound. “My guess is one of our great-grandparents. Apparently, the magic skipped a few generations before settling on me.”
Elias remained silent, and Rachel squirmed beneath his gaze, swallowing slightly as she shifted from foot to foot, waiting for him to say something.
“Look, I’m sorry I kept this from you, but I only figured it out recently, and I was afraid of what you and the rest of the pack would think, so I kept it secret,” she babbled when the silence continued to stretch on.
Eventually, Elias seemed to drag himself from his stupor as he regarded his sister. “You seriously think you can help?” Elias asked, and relief broke across Rachel’s face.
“I’m the only one here who can actually do something against the wraith,” she pointed out. “If something goes wrong, you’ll need me.”
